May 4, 2013: Weekly 5 minute update (Audio Only)

You may view the 5 minute update this week via audio:

1) Listen to the audio

In this week’s 5 minute update, we focused on:

1) The current status of the Israel / PLO peace process
2) The current status of the situation with Syria
3) The current status of the situation with Iran

In order to agree to restart direct peace talks with Israel, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has given the following demands:

1) Israel must present the Palestinians with a map for a Palestinian state based upon 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
2) Israel must stop building Jewish homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
3) Israel must transfer parts of Area C in the West Bank which is under full Israeli control to the Palestinians.
4) Israel must agree to refrain from withholding in the future any monthly Palestinian tax revenues collected by Israel
5) Israel must immediately release Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails

However, Israel has refused to meet these preconditions saying that doing so would weaken its negotiation position. In any agreement with the Palestinians, Israel insists that it includes the following:

1) A demilitarized Palestinian state
2) A waive of the Palestinian right of return
3) PLO recognition of a Jewish state
4) The meeting of Israel’s security needs including military control over the Jordan Valley

US Secretary of State John Kerry has gained the consent of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to run peace negotiations on two tracks simultaneously – Israel and the Palestinians plus Israel and the the Arab League. Kerry says more work needs to be done before a starting date can be established but he hopes that talks can begin this summer. Kerry’s strategy is based upon issues which were communicated to him in talks with Netanyahu and Abbas. The 2002 Saudi peace plan which became known as the Arab peace initiative calls for total Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders in return for peace and normal relations with the Arab world. Netanyahu told Kerry that if this demand remained on the table that peace talks would quickly turn into a stalemate. Meanwhile, Abbas told Kerry that comprehensive Arab backing was imperative for him to consent to reenter peace talks with Israel.

As a result, Kerry invited a group of prominent Arab foreign ministers, heads of the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee, to visit the US to discuss the major issues standing in the way of an Arab peace deal with Israel. Among those present were Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim, chair of the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee, Arab League Chairman Nabil al-Arabi and Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki. After putting before them Netanyahu’s objections to the Arab peace intiative, Kerry was able to persuade the Arab ministers to accept President Barack Obama’s formulation, which provides for an Israeli return to the 1967 boundaries with “comparable and mutual agreed minor swaps of the land.”

Palestinian chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said that the initiative reflected the Palestinian position in support of minor land swaps with Israel. PA Foreign Minister Riyad Malki, who was part of the Arab delegation that met with Kerry, was also quoted as saying that the proposal had been made in coordination with the Palestinians. Muhamed Shtayyeh, a PA negotiator and top Fatah representative, said that it was “premature” to talk about the idea of land swaps with Israel. Shtayyeh said that any land swaps should come as a result of negotiations with Israel. He said that any future land swaps should be equal in size and value. “For each centimeter we give, we should get a centimeter in return.” Shtayyeh expressed concern that Israel would interpret the Arab proposal as permission to annex settlement blocs in the West Bank. “This is a dangerous matter because we consider all settlements to be illegal and should be removed as an obstacle to peace. We want Israel to give. The Arabs are not required to give.  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expects that the United States would exercise pressure on Israel to accept resuming peace talks on the basis of pre-1967 border lines, with the slight exchange of land.

Hamas rejected a revised Middle East peace initiative put forward by the Arab League saying outsiders could not decide the fate of the Palestinians. Hamas leader Haniyeh said: “The so-called new Arab initiative is rejected by our people, by our nation and no one can accept it. The initiative contains numerous dangers to our people in the occupied land of 1967, 1948 and to our people in exile. To those who speak of land swaps we say: Palestine is not a property, it is not for sale, not for a swap and cannot be traded.” Two other Palestinian organizations,  the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine – two radical groups that are opposed to the peace process with Israel – also rejected the land trade idea.

Meanwhile, Israel objects to key elements of the Arab peace initiative which calls for Israel to return to the pre-1967 borders, the inclusion of East Jerusalem as the capital of a PLO state and the return of Palestinian refugees to what is now Israel. The core issues that need to be settled in any peace agreement include borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and the status of Jerusalem.

Israel Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads peace negotiations with the Palestinians, called the Arab League announcement “very positive news”. She expressed hope that this change by the Arab League would help get the Palestinians to return to negotiations and send a message to the Israeli public that an agreement with the Palestinians would lead to normalization of ties with the entire Arab world. Livni met with US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in the United States following the Arab League announcement. Yitzhak Molcho, Netanyahu’s envoy on the peace process, accompanied Livni to her meeting with Kerry. Molcho has visited the United States “frequently” over the past few weeks. Molcho presented Kerry with Netanyahu’s objections to the Arab League plan, including fears that the US would adopt its language stipulating only minor land swaps that don’t include the settlement blocs.

Netanyahu said he is “eager” to sign a peace deal, but noted that any agreement would need to ensure Israeli security and that the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict didn’t start in 1967 nor with the construction of the first settlements. The purpose of the future agreement with the Palestinians is to prevent the eventuality of a binational state and to guarantee stability and security. The root of the conflict is the Palestinians’ refusal to recognize the Jews’ right to a country. Israel, while perfectly willing to sit down to talks, “has to make sure that, at the end of the negotiations, it will be clear it is the end of the conflict and Palestinian demands, and that there is recognition for our nation state. It’s not about a Palestinian state, it’s about a Jewish state. Netanyahu added that only the Israeli army can provide Israel with the security it needs in any peace agreement. An international peacekeeping force in not acceptable as ”a peace agreement doesn’t necessarily bring security.” Finally, Netanyahu said that in any peace agreement with the Palestinians, Israelis would have a chance to voice their opinions of it in a national referendum.

PA Foreign Minister Riyad Malki announced that the Palestinian Authority has pledged to the US that it would freeze its efforts to join United Nations agencies or turn to the International Criminal Court until June 4. Malki said that the promise was made to US Secretary of State John Kerry as a “gesture” on the part of the Palestinians “and in order to prove our true intentions to give a bigger chance to the peace process.” Malki said that the PA decision was aimed at “proving our good intentions and belief in making relentless efforts to achieve peace with Israel on the basis of a two-state solution.”

Finally, Israel Knesset member Moshe Feiglin said that he would not be voting with his own Likud party as a way of protesting Netanyahu from preventing him from being on the Temple Mount.

An agreement to divide Jerusalem and establish a PLO state is a tribulation event.

The link to these articles are as follows:

1) Kerry’s plans double peace track: Israel vs Palestinians and vs Arab League
2) Arab states: Flexible on 1967 lines in Kerry parley
3) PA officials split over Arab League’s proposal
4) Hamas rebuffs Arabs for softening Israeli-Palestinian peace-plan
5) PA to halt ICC plans against Israel as peace gesture
6) PA Sets a New Ultimatum – Back in the UN on June 3rd
7) Abbas expects U.S. pressure on Israel to resume peace talks
8) Livni, Kerry meet in bid to renew peace talks
9) Livni optimistic after talking peace with Kerry
10) Livni on Arab initiative: They realized border must change
11) Knesset, PM to hold parley on Arab League proposal
12) Israel will not talk on basis of 1967 lines: minister
13) Netanyahu calls for peace deal to avert binational state
14) Netanyahu: Conflict is Over Israel’s Existence, Not Land
15) PM: Referendum Before Any Deal With the PA
16) Israel and Palestinians closing in on resumed peace talks
17) Feiglin suspends himself from coalition over Temple Mt. ban

In response to reports that the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad has used chemical weapons against the government opposition in Syria’s civil war, the US military is preparing for the possibility of an aerial or sea missile attack on Syrian chemical weapons sites. A Senior US administration official said that “there is intensified planning in the works.” The US is discussing possibly using ground troops to secure the Syrian chemical weapons sites. However, a missile strike on Syria is far more likely that the US using any ground troops in the conflict. What makes any military task challenging is that Syrian chemical stockpiles are constantly being moved around the country to avoid being located. US President Barack Obama has not asked for any strike options yet but the US Pentagon is preparing all military options in case they are needed. Recently, Egyptian and Iranian government officials had meetings to discuss the growing concern that the US may choose to conduct a military option against Syria. A senior Egyptian diplomat said, “There are serious moves being made by the US that imply an imminent strike on Damascus.”

In addition, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that the US is rethinking its opposition to arming the Syrian rebels. However, giving weapons to the forces fighting President Bashar Assad was only one option being considered by the United States to remove Assad from power. In potentially arming the Syrian rebels, Hagel cautioned that it carries the risk of arms finding their way into the hands of anti-American extremists among the insurgents, such as the Nusra Front.  Hagel said: “You look at and rethink all options. It doesn’t mean you do or you will” choose them.

A war with Syria where Damascus is destroyed (Isaiah 17) is a tribulation event.

The link to these articles is as follows:

1) US rethinking opposition to arming Syria rebels
2) ‘US mulls way to hit Syria chemical weapons sites’

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US has upgraded its biggest bunker buster bomb specifically to enable the destruction of Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom. US officials have shown video footage to Israel of an earlier version of the bunker buster in action and explained the advanced features which have been added. The bunker buster, known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), is 30,000 pounds and has been improved with “adjusted fuses to maximize its burrowing power, upgraded guidance systems to improve its precision and high-tech equipment intended to allow it to evade Iranian air defenses in order to reach and destroy the Fordow nuclear enrichment complex.”

The US believes that by showing Israel its upgraded bunker buster bomb that it will convince Israel that the US will indeed prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons.

The link to these articles is as follows:

1) ‘US upgrades bomb to thwart Israel strike on Iran’

From a Biblical prophetic perspective, the reason why the God of Israel would allow these events to happen is because it will result in the end of the exile of the house of Jacob and the reunification of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Judah).

We will to be “watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem” and we will not rest until the God of Israel makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62).

Shalom in Yeshua the Messiah,

Eddie Chumney
Hebraic Heritage Ministries Int’l

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